As the World Cup approaches the knockout stages, spare a thought for those whose team was not even in Brazil. Billions of people around the world have had to adopt countries to follow. Sometimes the affiliation is predictable, sometimes it is surprising. Who knew the Chinese had quietly adopted Germany? Or that Pakistanis have a soft spot for Chile?

Sweden

According to a poll by the Aftonbladet tabloid, Belgium has the most support in Sweden, something Malmö author and Belgium supporter Patrik Lundberg puts down to the visibility of stars such as Marouane Fellaini and Vincent Kompany in the English Premier League. "We really like new players who we haven't seen before in the big arena. Belgium haven't played in the World Cup since 2002, so it's totally new," he said. "They came out of nowhere and I think that's why people really like them."

Richard Orange in Stockholm

Poland

In recent years the Polish favourite has been Germany, dubbed by the local media "the Polish team". This is because Miroslav Klose – Germany's most prolific goal-scorer of all time – and Lukas Podolski were born in Poland. As Marek Winiarski, a security guard, says: "When you can't have what you like, you must learn to like what you have. Our national team is crap but at least we have two Poles playing in one of the best teams in the world. We have to make do with that for now."

Remi Adekoya in Warsaw

Romania

"We Romanians like teams that have tradition when it comes to football, teams like Spain and Germany," says Mihnea Mihaita, 34, a Romanian television journalist sitting at an outside terrace in the old town in Bucharest, watching a first round game on a big screen.

"Lots of people in Romania support Germany or Italy – Germany because of their consistency, Italy because of our Latin languages," says Adrian Nicolescu, the owner of a pizza delivery service, sitting beside him. Calin Gheorghe, 40, a radio DJ, agrees most Romanians support Latin teams such as Spain and Italy due to language and perceived cultural similarities. "It also helps that they often have the best teams in the tournament," he says.

Ukraine

The morning before the high-stakes game between Russia and South Korea, one café in Kiev hung a sign reading "Occupants vs Korea". The implication is obvious. Western Ukrainians may not agree on a favourite at the World Cup, but there's one team they all want to lose: Russia.

Ruslan Pryliepa, 31, a Kiev lawyer, supports Belgium. "They play a very fast, aggressive game," he said. But many of his friends support Germany, England, Croatia and Yugoslavia. "The Brazilians have the highest chance to become champions but they don't impress us for now."

In eastern Ukraine, loyalties are reversed. "A year and a half ago, I rooted for Ukraine, but after this crap I can't any more," said Alexander, a truck driver with half a dozen silver teeth, blaming Kiev's "anti-terrorist operation" to take back eastern Ukraine for killing peaceful civilians. "Now I'm rooting for Russia, and I'll continue to root for Russia."

In the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, whose leaders have called on Russia to deploy peacekeeping troops and annex the territory, it's not easy to find a place to watch the World Cup. Since Donetsk is a virtual ghost town after dark, with many of its one million residents afraid to go out later than the loosely enforced 8pm curfew announced by the rebels, most businesses have been closing down earlier than usual. This dimly lit rooftop bar at Tortuga Tavern in the far-flung Petrovsky district – a "ghetto" in the words of one of the patrons – was one of the only places showing the Russia-South Korea match, which started at 1am local time.

"Before, I got goosebumps when the Ukrainian hymn played," said Alexander. "Now I can't cheer for Ukraine because of the situation here … Why do they bomb us?."

The makeshift cafeteria in the rebel-occupied Donetsk administration building has also been showing some World Cup games. Timur, a rebel in a baseball cap and camouflage who was guarding the entrance with a Kalashnikov rifle, said he was supporting Argentina and Germany and tries to follow the tournament when not on duty. But many people in Donetsk "don't have time for football right now", " he said.

"I used to root for Ukraine, but after what's been happening recently, I've had to make harsh decisions," Timur said. Asked why he had picked Argentina and Germany, he joked that the Donetsk People's Republic "hasn't created our own team yet".

Alec Luhn in Donetskand Oksana Grytsenko in Kiev

Latvia

With more than a quarter of Latvian residents possessing Russian ethnicity, it's not surprising that many people, particularly in the capital Riga and the eastern regions bordering Russia, are supporting Russia – the Russian minority tends to be more interested in football than the Latvian majority, which reserves its sporting passion for ice hockey.

"Russian kids are supporting Russia but I don't think any of them expect Russia to win," says Justin Walley, a British resident of the Latvian capital Riga and youth team coach with Riga United, the football club he co-founded in 2007 that mixes foreign and local players in three adult teams (including a women's team) and four youth teams.

"Riga United's adults and kids are particularly excited about Holland, Brazil, Germany and Argentina, although as players at the club come from 30 different nations, their loyalties are split.In an online poll we carried out, Germany got the most votes to win the tournament," he says.

Mike Collier

Armenia

Armenia has traditionally had close ties with Russia and most Armenians continue to support that political and economic alliance. Yet their football loyalties seem to lie with other teams in the World Cup tournament in Brazil, namely the host team, along with Spain and Germany.

This sentiment is on ample display at a myriad of cafes and bars in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, that turn into packed fan zones during World Cup broadcasts. Armenians hold German football in particularly high regard ever since Armenia's top star, Henrikh Mkhitarian, joined Borussia Dortmund from the Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk in a €27.5m (£22m) transfer in July 2013.

The Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, cited a recent 6-1 friendly defeat at the hands of Germany as the reason why he is now cheering for that team. The score, he told state television on 17 June, will no longer be embarrassing if the Germans triumph in Brazil. Most Armenians would probably agree.

Emil Danielyan

Azerbaijan

Without a strong national football team of its own, the South Caucasus energy power of Azerbaijan has no clear favourite at this year's World Cup.

There seems to be roughly an equal level of support for Azerbaijan's two neighbours, Russia and Iran. But it's not universal.

"I've been a fan of Holland since I watched the 1978 World Cup when I was seven," said Mehdi Guluzade, a 43-year-old physician wearing the Holland team's orange T-shirt while watching a first-round Holland match. Most politicians have kept their preferences to themselves, although the Baku mayor, Hajibala Abutalibov, has conceded that he is rooting for Brazil.

Some Facebook posts also suggest that some Azerbaijanis are rooting for Russia to lose – a sentiment that is down to the tension between Russia and Ukraine. "Football is not Crimea, where Putin could win thanks to his army," one commentator drily observed.

Shahin Abbasov

Georgia

In Georgia, a country where former AC Milan star Kakha Kaladze now serves as energy minister, support for Italian football cannot be underestimated. Russia, on the other hand, is a team that Georgians find hard to love, a result of messy post-Soviet relations between the two countries.

Georgia's national team has never made it to the World Cup finals, but that has not prevented this tiny South-Caucasus country of 4.5 million, the host of the 2015 UEFA Super Cup, from being wild about football. After World Cup matches, celebrating fans pour out of cafes, disputes rage online and bets are made. Women, mostly young girls, are increasingly among the viewers.

Both before and after the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse, Georgia produced many football talents, such as Soviet top-league players David Kipiani or Aleksandr Chivadze, and post-Soviet stars Shota Arveladze and, of course, Kakha Kaladze.

Kaladze, however, has not been able to find time to root for his favourite team, Italy, since he is playing politics now. The 36-year-old energy minister told reporters that he has been so busy helping his new team – the ruling Georgian Dream coalition – win recent local elections that he could not watch any of the World Cup games.

Giorgi Lomsadze

South Africa

Ghana celebrate scoring against Germany. The team has been adopted by many South Africans. Photograph: Cao Can/Rex Features

South Africa, hosts of the last World Cup in 2010, failed to qualify. For many fans the void has been filled by Ghana, who captured hearts during their run to the quarter-finals four years ago. Bareng-Batho Kortjaas, sports editor of the Sunday Times, said: "After earning the dubious distinction of being the first World Cup hosts to go out in the first round in 2010, a lot of South Africans took to Ghana.Personally, I said Ghana was my second team. So now it's a healthy hangover from 2010. We adopted Ghana and we'll stick with Ghana now."

South Africans have even taken their national team's nickname, Bafana Bafana (The Boys), and adapted it to BaGhana BaGhana in a show of solidarity.

David Smith in Johannesburg

Egypt

Egypt's leading ultraconservative cleric, Yasser Borhamy, has called the World Cup a distraction that will lead to "the destruction of nations and peoples", but most Egyptians aren't taking any notice. The biggest teams have the most support, says football journalist Osama Khairy. "Brazil and Argentina are the most popular because their players have a lot of tricks, and that's how Egyptians like to play." But Algeria, the only Arab team in the cup, also has support. A group of Algerian fans in Egypt have released a song on YouTube ] called We Are One and posted pictures of themselves at Egyptian landmarks holding a pro-Algeria slogan.

"I want Algeria to win," says Ashraf Mohamed, a waiter. "They're Arabs and so are we." But many still resent Algeria for blocking Egypt's route to the World Cup in 2010, in a bitter encounter that sparked several riots.

Patrick Kingsley in Cairo

Afghanistan

Afghanistan's love for football increased after the national team won last year's South Asia Cup, celebrated with gunfire around the country. But there is no obvious candidate for Afghan support in the World Cup, so loyalties are divided. Many young Afghans are following the matches, often only loosely backing the national teams of players they have come to love in the European league, like Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I'm supporting the Netherlands because they are a young, exciting team," said Abdul, who has been obsessively following matches on his radio. "My friends are supporting England and America, some other countries, each one whatever he likes."

Most people watch the football at home with friends and family. There are no bars because religious laws in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ban the sale of alcohol, and even in larger cities insecurity and poverty mean cafes and restaurants are only an option for a tiny elite.

Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul

Pakistan

Pakistani fans prepare a poster to decorate walls for the World Cup in Karachi. Photograph: Fareed Khan/AP

The national sport may be hockey, and the national religion cricket, but Pakistanis have been following the World Cup with obsessional interest. In Karachi, electricity managers have to manage the rationing schedule in the power-starved country with an eye to popular games. And while the country's team languishes towards the bottom of the international legal tables, Pakistanis most enjoy watching countries that show a bit of steel and aggression, says Omer Ghaznavi, host of a weekly radio sports show. "Pakistani fans love an attacking team and they are in love with Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay."

"Everyone is quite upset that Rooney finally managed to score a goal and still crashed out."

Predictably, Brazil is the national favourite. But among women, who have been writing in to Ghaznavi's show in large numbers, the favourite is Spain.

"They are all talking about how good looking the team is," he said. "Even my wife is prepared to stay up until 3pm to watch the Spanish team, which is quite disturbing."

Jon Boone in Islamabad

Philippines

The Philippines is predominantly a basketball loving country, one of the legacies left behind by the US. As a Spanish colony, the primary sport of the Philippines was football long ago however, this favouritism started to diminish when America took over the country as their new colonial rulers.

More recently, the love of the sport has picked up again with the slow rise of their national football team, the Azkals.

The Netherlands is a favourite here as one of the players is Jonathan de Guzmán, 26, a player of Filipino and Jamaican descent. But Coco Torre, an avid football fan and the marketing manager of the United Football League of the Philippines, has been rooting for Brazil. "It's really their style. They play with flair. Most of the players also come from the less fortunate areas and in the Philippines it's the same context." Torre said among his friendswho have been staying up late to watch the matches, favourites included Germany and – until their elimination – England and Spain. Many here have Hispanic heritage.

Indonesia

The Indonesian team might not be gracing the field in Brazil, but that has done little to dent World Cup mania.

Matches here are often marked by fans screaming from the roofs of buses, bitter rivalries and sporadic violence. In contrast, the World Cup has a somewhat unifying influence. On the streets, dozens of Indonesians huddle around a single TV set for every match, eyes glued to the screen, hoping they have made the right bet. Even the sports ministry has turned its front yard into a rumah bola, or soccer house, used as a public viewing space.

Despite the unaccommodating viewing hours here – 11pm, 3am and 5am – fans appear unperturbed, with editorials grumbling about the country being run by sleep-deprived civil servants for the next month, and that the populace is more interested in the cup than the upcoming presidential election.

Brazil supporter and local construction worker Suhanna, 42, says he is careful to pick the teams he wants to watch so he doesn't lose too much sleep. "But if it's a big game," he says, "I'll stay up and watch through the morning and then go straight to work."

As for who Indonesians are supporting, it's complex. "It depends, it's a mix between Brazil, Argentina, Portugal and the Netherlands," said one fan watching a late-night game last week.

Kate Lamb in Jakarta

China

A man crouches in front of TV sets broadcasting footage of the match between England and Uruguay in Wuhan, Hubei province. Photograph: Darley Shen/Reuters

Although China's football league is notoriously inept, the country is full of avid football fans, many of whom have been skipping work and rearranging their sleep schedules to catch the games on national television.

Posts on Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblog, suggest that Chinese fans have a special fondness for Germany – a page called "Go Team Germany" has attracted 140m views and 172,000 comments. Spain, Argentina, Italy and Brazil have also attracted loyal followings. "There is no clear crowd favourite here– every person is different," said Xie Xiaomi, 27, an newspaper editor at a state-run newspaper in Beijing. For Xie – as for many other Chinese football fans – the tournament is more about athletic spectacle than individual teams. "Only one thing's for sure," she said. "Nobody here is rooting for Japan."

Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing

India

Indian soccer fans of Argentina cheer for their team in front of a giant picture of the team's Lionel Messi. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters

Pannalal Chatterjee, 81, a retired port official in Kolkata, is watching his ninth World Cup with his wife, Chaitali. For the couple, who lead a spartan, one-room existence only to save money for the big event every four years, the latest odyssey is doubly significant – they are passionate supporters of Brazil's national team. Kolkata is the cradle of Indian football, and boasts many admirers of Brazil. But there are also a large number of supporters for Argentina - and Germany, the Netherlands, and England.

"My team's Argentina," said Delhi gym trainer Anil Chikara. "It has players like Sergio Agüero and Lionel Messi. Then I support Germany, because it's a young team."

Indian fans have never been polled for their favourite international team. But many believe that Brazil is the most popular team. But after the last World Cup, eBay India said it had sold most of its Fifa merchandise to fans of Argentina, Germany, England and Brazil.